Photographic clip and support



Sept. 28, 1954 A. LUDWIG 2,690,107

PHOTOGRAPHIC CLIP AND SUPPORT Filed Nov. 28. 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 r3 1 Jo) 10 Eg M &

INVENTOR. An ikozgylzzdwz BY wax A Hot-r2251 Sept. 28, 1954 A. LUDWIG 2,690,107 PHOTOGRAPHIC CLIP AND SUPPORT Filed Nov. 28, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 fig- L I 5am} dilmi IN VEN TOR. By flnihmylzzdwa mm LO. W

l fiarfy Patented Sept. 28, 1954 UN I TE D AT ES PATE N T Q F FI'CE 2,690,107" PHOTOGRAPHIC CLIP; AND .-SUPPORT Anthony-Ludwig, Fallsflhurch; Vaz ApnlicationNovember 28, 1950, Serial N o: 19%885:

This invention relates to photographic clips and supports and particularlytothose :clips and supports adapted. for. use in.-processing. long, or short strips, such as photographic films.

In the making of photographic negatives, the films; are passed. successivelyirom one tankicontaining a processing. solution to. another tank containing another processing, solution, after Which the films. arev washed. and. dried;

In the processing of ordinary black. and white negatives,..the films are first placedlinatank containing a developing solution. After the film is..deve10ped,..it is. usuallyplaced in a so-called shortstop solution. which-arrests, at'once', all actionofany developer solution which may have remained on the film. After treatment in'the solution, the film is removed and placedina hypo solution. This hypo solution removes all of the light sensitive portion of the emulsionon thefilm body which has'not been afiected by the light exposure. This completes theprocessing except for washing and drying-of the negative.

After the hypo. treatment, the negative is. removedv from the hypo solution andplaced'iin a water bath. In some laboratories it'is customary to use two hypo baths first a weaker bath and then. a. stronger bath. The negative, before passing to the dryer, may be put through-one; two,v or.more water baths to be sure 'thatall'of thehypo. has been removed.

In.removing a clip with its negative from'on'e solution to go into another, it'is vobvious'thatit is advantageous if the clip is so shaped. as 'to cause practically, all of the solution to runofi as the clip andjits negativeemerge from the sur face of the solution. This is important because (1) there is a minimum loss of solution: and (2) there is a minimum contamination of'thenext solution. And when the negative has finished being washed, ,thereis less watertobe removed by. evaporation.

Also, in developing and washingph'otographic films, particularly film. packs; considerable trouble has been encountered due to'other'causes; The. clips. have collected and. heldw'ater until after the films were dried. and. when disturbed, have given. upv the water to be deposited on'the films. This causestheemulsion to be distorted whendried the second. transmitsthe appearance of a dropofwater. Further, the film pack films have come in: contact with; the racks, oftenzresulting. in a sticking-{of the-film to the racks. On removal, the silver deposit..-usually found-on the racks has-hada time andwhen printed,

tendency to...adhere to..the..film,. thus. practically destroying .itsusefulness. To avoid. this retention of thewater on .the clips .to be later, perhaps accidentally, .deposited...on. the film, some laboratories haveinstalled'. an. additional bath with what is called. a fwetting agent. This bath may contain. aerosoP or some similar agent whose function. it'lis to destroy the surfacetension of the water, promotingits draining from the clips; This extra bath wouldbe useless if the water drained properly from the clips.

With the clips in use atith'e present'time," for example in photographic development; therehas beenioun'd to;b'e a definite'tendencyforthe clips to hold on their surfaces, the liquids such as chemicals and water; foralonger time than desirable after having been: removed from the chemical. or water'bat I In'the case of .the chemicals; too much of "the liquid"chemicalis drawnout onthe surface of the. clip; thus wasting the chemical and unneces sarily' contaminating the next bath into" which the film and'its clip may; be inserted. In the case ofjthe water, toomuch ofthe'wa-teradheres tOJthecIip' afterpassing-through the final water bath. This often results-in the retention of much Water onthe-= clipafter the film is thoroughly dried? The-result of such a condition isthat upon removal ofth'e-film'and clip from thedrying rack, the-water retained on the-'clip'issdisturbed and runs on-to -the'film. Thiswater rewets the fili'n and may' result' in tl) streaks on the. film or (2); damage toi the fiimyxmadexpossible by/con; tact after"beingusoftened; .by the water and. (3)

I. tearz'dropzmarks as aireadyrrpointedtout;

In any; event; this-- surplus 1 chemical solution or water is undesirable on eithemtheclip orits support.

The'primaryzobject ofithisinvention is theprovisionz'oi an: improved. photographic clip; and. sup.- port:therefor Another? object,- of the. invention is the pro? visionrofi an improved. clip.- which has 2 its. parts so shaped thatwhen-dmmersed in liquid. and then withdrawn, thewliquid: will substantially all- .run off of the: clip asrwithdrawn from the liquid, thus facilitating the drying of the films Still another object of theinventionv istheprovision. of. a clips so. shaped. as. to .minimize. the collection of liquid. thereon,.., due. to. surface tension.

A still further objector the invention 'istthe provision .of ascliphaving a. minimum amount otsurfaoe close to other parts of the clip andlto parts of the .supportedl'obiect.

Another and still further object of the invention is the provision of a clip having its parts so shaped as to drain liquid away from the gripping portions of the clip.

Another and still further object of the invention is the provision of an improved clip wherein there are a plurality of gripping means, each having a plurality of gripping teeth arranged in relative positions to be in a substantially vertical line when in use.

Another and still further object of the invention is the provision of an improved clip which will be free from cup portions upturned U-shaped portions or hollow spaces or horizontal surfaces, or horizontal lower edges which would assist the normal surface tension of a liquid to retain the liquid on the clip.

Another and still further object of the invention is the provision of a clip having jaws so formed as to have small area contacts with the object, such as a film being dried, thereby permitting a uniform rate of drying of the film with the consequent avoidance of a wet portion at the clip and the necessity of cutting off of its wet ends as the film is removed from the racks.

Another and still further object of the invention is the provision of a sheet metal photographic clip having its side edges so formed as to drain and discharge substantially all of the processing liquids and water as the clips with their films are withdrawn respectively from the processing tanks and water baths.

Another and still further object of the invention is the provision of a sheet metal clip wherein are provided no inclosed or substantially inclosed spaces where ventilation and efficient drying would be retarded.

Another and still further object of the invention is the provision of a clip wherein each of its lower extremities comes substantially to a point to facilitate prevention of formation and retention of drops and promotes discharge of the liquid as the clips leave the tanks.

Another and still further object of the invention is the provision of a sheet metal clip wherein all of the body of the clip, except its upper loop, will be in substantially vertical planes, thus promoting the draining of the processing liquids from the surface of the clip as the clip is withdrawn from the liquid.

Another and still further object of the invention is the provision of a clip and support construction where films or similar articles may be suspended substantially in a vertical plane and without contact therewith except at the jaws of the clip.

Still another and further object of the invention is the provision of a clip and support for drying films and which has substantially all vertical surfaces, the support having vertical and cross bars with clips thereon to support film pack films making contact only with the clips and at the corners with cross bars.

Still another and further object of the invention is the provision of a clip which may be used with the gripping means at either top or bottom and in either position will have the lower edges of its sides out of horizontal with their lowest points having substantially no length or width.

Still another and further object of the invention is the provision of a clip having oppositely disposed arch portions which will drain liquids regardless of which arch is upright.

Other and further objects of the invention will be apparent to one skilled in the art from a reading of the complete specification.

Referring to the drawing wherein is illustrated an embodiment of the invention,

Fig. 1 is a front view of the clip on an enlarged scale.

Fig. 2 is a side view of the invention as illustrated in Fig. 1, with a part section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a detail enlarged view of a modified form showing the details of the gripping device.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of the lower ends of one pair of the gripping elements at a right angle to Fi 3.

Fig. 5 is a pattern of the blank of the end of the modified clip end of Figs. 3 and 4.

Fig. 6 is one form of support with clips attached, for developing and processing film pack films.

Fig. "I is a side view of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is one form of support bar with clips attached.

Fig. 9 is an end view of Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a fragmental view of the front elevation of a modified form of clip which will efficiently discharge any liquid from its surface, regardless of which end is on the top.

Fig. 11 is a side view of Fig. 10.

Fig. 12 is a sectional view taken on the line l2--l2 of Fig. 11.

similar reference characters refer to the same or similar parts throughout the specification and drawing. The clip will first be described.

The numeral ID designates the main body of the clip which is of sheet material and bent so as to form a spring loop to provide resilience to operate the gripping means as will be later described. The forward depending portion lOa of the main body portion ends in two depending portions lllb, Hlc, each of which forms a portion of a gripping means for holding an article, as a film I2. Each depending portion [0b, [0c is provided with one or more ribs llld, for coaction with the complementary portion of the gripping means to be presently described. The depending portion Hm and the ends Hlb, lllc are in a substantially vertical plane.

The rear depending portion We of the spring body portion H) is provided with a pair of arms lllf which are substantially in vertical planes when the clip is supported in its normal operative depending position. These arms l0 ex tend on each side of the forward depending portion Illa of the main body portion ill and have downwardly extending ends [0g which are provided with prongs or teeth lllh which preferably have their axes pointing diagonally upwardly with their points in registry with the space at or slightly below the center of the respective ribs Hid. The upper edges of these prongs Hlh are preferably sloped downwardly from the points and their lower edges have a greater slope.

On the lower edge of the arm lllf is a cut-in edge [01' which is located above the teeth H111. and serves as a stop or limiting means for the upper edge of the film I2 when the latter is inserted in the clip, yet has suflicient slope to conduct the liquids downwardly toward the bottom of the clip.

The normal spring tension of the main body portion In of the clip is such that the prongs or teeth in are normally held with their re- 'spec'tive points, --'eah in slightlylonger -than the width of the teeth (bending-.01 the teeth By having theof the sharp point ribs Hlh, it ls: obvious the points (if the lteeth in registry with its rib Md.

The lower ends of the downwardly extending "points I'07c, 'whose 'tips are the arms 3 [0f provided with away from th'e ob- *jectyas affil'mgwhichis being supported. This "feature drains the liquid on the film and permits even a fthe clip-away' from small drop toleave the clip. A further advantage of this construc- --tion is that the edge between the point I'Olc and the lower tooth lOh acts as when it" is being inserted in "In this connection it is st p and -'bottom and firmlyhel The lower e pointed ends,

a guide to i the film the clip. to be noted that the the arms I I0 are intips I010, thus the liquid oh that the'film will be gripped but not perforated.

xtremities of the depending p'ortions lob and H10 terminate in substantially which extend backwardly and away from'the normally depending Each supporting fram w be 50 which is of sufiicient' orwater bath.

* ng frame illustrated on Figs. 35

described.

e is provided with a bar cross section 1 to supbe used. the ends are preferably a pair 5|. Connecting these These transverse horizontal'barsii arespaced apart a suflicie ing of the film 'portionsto the sides of the bars52.

In "connecting the 4 clips to willribesslightlyxabovetthes lower edge cof the char. In this way, with the emulsion side towardalthe :zbantthe supper corners 'ofxrthe:negativewillheurl against the bar and ":tend itto shold ithe ine'gative unearerttoiits'znormaltplane.

:Itzis Ito cbe muted that with the 1100p :01 the body portionelruzofsthe clip azboveet'heupperaedge u'of lthe:transverseibanfl andxthebupper edge of theitfilm: occupyingraafilace :high :enough to'zb'arely 10 icontactixthe'rtransverse'rbar .1'5 Lathe :ja'ws lfl'h with utherribs 'rl'o'd will rrhold itheifi-lm entirely uclearsexceptwt'lthe corners and the points where'ztheufilm is :held; and without piercing the? film.

.rReferringr-partieulafly .to Eigsrf and 4,": w here a there a is illustrated ::a slightly rmodified :form 201' tithe gripping r'mechani'sm, zthexparts 1M Iii-0y, |0hrand f l lrllkv" arersimilarotoxthe parts f- If, 10!], I872 and llllcg-ras illustrated-wings. 1: andxz land-sag previously'rtdescribed.

.xAtrithexloweriendi l fllb or theitfrontifoldedapor- 'tion'.ll0a,21the egripping :member is :of slightly icorrespondingc'to rt-he .ithree ri'bs Izod, already :dei'scribed. zIn ithi S monstruotion, lithe teeth tlil'h register-iwithsspacesjust.slightlyi'helowlthesc'orreispondin'g' points :of ethe i'iteeth l lflq @so :that the when :betweenithe'iteeth r-l-"l 0h ion 50118 aside rand" the. teeth 1% li'lflq xon thez othenikwill rberm'a'de zto assumezsomewhat of aWerya-slight wave for-mation: with sufficient z-"springtpressur'eYbetween the teeth Hllh and HM .tbfholdithefilm in place messcofzthetr teeth 11th and I I liuqrsmay :be varied,

40 if ideslrfli toFSUit' T/he conditions to be met. In

L some instances:theieontactmgiedgesrofiithe teeth I l M may have 'snchiza'r'sma'll: zdegree of sharpness v maderito' prdtrlude suifici'ently, tlrey'may 'beconsidered as"- b'eing teeth.

:JIThe lower end of thelower portion "-l iilb ends inia'r pdint =1 l l llm fora purpose 'similan to the point a [0mit already descfiibed.

Z.-Referning'rto Figures 1 to 4, -whieh 5 illustrate :lboth f forms of the invention; the ribs-fl lls and H 08 iaction to the corresponding gripping portions of the'clip. Ills, Hit and llfis, Hot may be made first 'step in the stamping process.

The modified form of 1 Clip "illustrated in "Figs. 110,-11 and lz'will'now be described.

with the top or bottom of the film being desired.

Referring particularly to Figs. to 12, the top of the clip is illustrated as having a bow shaped resilient portion having a forward extension 2 Ilia extending from the bow on one side and a rear extension 2 me from the other side.

The curved portion of the bow has its central portion Zlllu cut out while on each side of the cut-out space is a curved rib portion 2l0v stamped in the remaining curved straps of the curve of the bow. On one of the vertical extensions ,as 2l0e, may be placed a weight 21010 which is so formed, as of a diamond shape, and so placed that any liquid present on its surface will be quickly conducted to its lower corner and thence to the then lower end of the clip, regardless of which clip end is at the top.

Considering the clip in the position as shown in Figs. 10, 11 and 12, when withdrawn from a liquid bath, the liquid in the upper sides or troughs of the portions 2121; will immediately be shed onto the front of the front extension 210a and the liquid on the rear of the center of the arch 2 Hi1) will, onto the outside of the rear extension M02. The liquid on the undersides of the arch portion 2 H312, as shown in Fig. 11, will be at once conducted to the inner sides of the extensions 2l0a, Mile, and thence to the lower portions of the clips and discharged from the lower clip ends. These lower ends, here not shown, may be constructed. according to the showings of the Figs. 1, 2 or Figs. 3, 4, as already described.

Considering this clip being used as a bottom clip, the parts illustrated as being at the top of Figs. 10, 11 and 12, would be at the bottom of the clip. Any liquid, of a bath, which might be withdrawn with the clip would at once drain to the four lower points of the clip at the lower sides of the inverted arch portions Zliiv from which it would be discharged. Generally considered, the construction is one in which there is a double arch construction and one in which the lower end of each horizontal length or width. This is the feature which always permits the clip to clear itself of liquid, regardless of which end is up. The double arch construction facilitates the quick draining processed, as

of the liquid to the lowest portion of the clip and the fact that the lowest parts have practically no horizontal length or breadth causes the liquid to be at once discharged.

It is thus clear that this clip may be used at either end of a film to be processed.

It will be noted that the objects of this invention have been well attained. The material for rack and clip may be of stainless steel or any suitable metallic or nonmietallic material. By having the small rib portions Hid at the lower ends of the arms for contact on one side of the film, for example, and the upwardly pointing prongs or teeth lllh in contact with the other side of the film, the liquid chemicals or water will drain from the clip, thus insuring a dry clip when the film is dry. This action is assisted by having no horizontal or near horizontal surfaces to collect or hold liquid, aided by surface tension, by having the lower ends Him and wk of the two gripping devices so shaped as to drain the liquid away from the clip as soon as it is removed from the bath, by having the film gripped by the teeth of the gripping means and in a vertical line and by shaping the teeth so as to facilitate the natural draining of the liquid to the points at once, drain from its trough extension has substantially no I lOk, Hum. It will be noted that the lower edge llfli is slightly inclined to drain the liquids to the bottom of the clip.

The elongated rib portions Hid and teeth points llOq insure proper co-action with the teeth ltlk and Milk even though the latter may be slightly bent.

In Figs. 8 and 9 there is illustrated a supporting bar 5011 having a series of loops 5% depending therefrom for the purpose of supporting the clips ID. This adaptation of the clip is for carrying strip films 12 as indicated in these figures in dotted lines.

While the disclosure herein made has been in detail and in connection with a photographic film, it is to be understood that this disclosure is merely illustrative, that it has other possible uses and that further modifications and changes than those illustrated may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and within its scope as claimed.

In the claims, the expression complete liquid drainage is used. This is not intended to include that liquid which may adhere to the surface of the clip as a film, held by capillary attraction. This film will readily dry oil. The term is intended to cover drops which because of the shape or the clip will be drained off. In this way, at the end of the drying of the film-negative, there will be no drops to become dislodged and fall on the negative after it is dry.

Reference is made to my co-pending application No, 661,099, filed April 16, 1948, now forfeited, of which this is a continuation in part.

Having described my invention, what I claim is:

l. A film-negative carrying means including a support, a spring-clip secured to the support, the clip having an inverted U-shape end having spaced pairs of gripping means with uninterrupted space therebetween, the surfaces of the support and clip having downwardly extending surfaces throughout, the adjacent parts of the surfaces of the clip being so spaced and angularly placed as to provide complete liquid drainage to the lower end of the clip and provide clear ventilation throughout the surfaces to prevent the formation and retention of drops of liquid on the support and clip.

2. A film-negative carrying means including a support, a spring-clip secured to the support, the clip having an inverted U-shape and having spaced pairs of gripping means with uninterrupted space therebetween, the surfaces of the support and clip having downwardly extending surfaces throughout, the adjacent parts of the surfaces of the clip being so spaced and angularly placed as to provide complete liquid drainage to the lower end of the clip and provide clear ventilation throughout the surfaces to prevent the formation and retention of drops of liquid on the support and clip, each pair of gripping members being set with relation to each other so as to cause the gripping of the film and film gelatine between the gripping means of a pair, with a nonniercin action on the film itself.

3. A film-negative carrying means including a'support, a spring-clip secured to the support, the clip having an inverted U-shape and having spaced pairs of gripping means with uninterrupted space therebetween, the surfaces of the support and clip having downwardly extending surfaces throughout, the adjacent parts of the surfaces of the clip being so spaced and angularly placed as to provide complete liquid drainage to the lower end of the clip and provide clear ventilation throughout the surfaces to prevent the formation and retention of drops of liquid on the support and clip, each gripping means of a pair having a relative setting to its complementary gripping means which will prevent piercing of the film by the gripping means, one of the gripping means being sufliciently sharp to only enter the surface of the gelatine of the film-negative.

4. A film-negative carrying means including a support, an inverted U-shape sheet metal clip having a fold at its upper end and two pairs of film-gripping means at the lower end of the clip, one gripping element of each pair of film-gripping means being connected to each fold, one of the folds having one element of each pair of lower end, the other fold Name Date Simonds Mar. 16, 1880 Number Number Number 10 Name Date Oleson Mar. 14, 1882 Heyman July 11, 1899 Senna Oct. 2, 1900 Hawkins Feb. 12, 1901 Tabler Jan. 16, 1906 Glading Sept. 24, 1907 Morehouse July 13, 1915 Dye Mar. 12, 1918 McClellan Sept. 6, 1921 Chapman et a1 May 8, 1923 Murphy Oct. 16, 1928 Fischer Mar. 17, 1931 Miller Oct. 3, 1933 Reilly Mar. 19, 1935 Abramson Oct. 13, 1936 Herschmann June 1, 1937 Post Sept. 7, 1937 Pleiss Aug. 8, 1939 Dye Sept. 2, 1941 Drucker Oct. 7, 1947 Kamis Oct. 21, 1947 Uhlmann Dec. 7, 1948 Armstrong et a1. Feb. 14, 1950 Ruschmann Apr. 4, 1950 Preston May 16, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Austria June 15, 1902 Great Britain Dec. 5, 1929 Australia July 1, 1945 

